Philanthropy Education

A Legacy of Giving is an innovative educational and service learning program incubating under Austin Community Foundation (ACF), a 501(c)(3) public charity. Unlike traditional direct service charities, Legacy is teaching children through academic service learning to become effective community trustees and thereby setting the stage for philanthropic activity now and in the future.

A Legacy of Giving provides a comprehensive, locally-based service-learning program supported by The LEAGUE, a national non-profit youth service organization that provides web-based philanthropy curricula and projects that meet Texas' TEKS standards. Legacy's rapid success could not have been realized without this collaboration. The partnership has proven to be one of strength and balance. Rather than developing philanthropic curricula from scratch, Legacy is licensed to use the LEAGUE's web-based philanthropy curricula and projects for grades K-12 designed to meet state TEKS standards in Language Arts, Social Studies, Science, Math and the Arts. Legacy is designated by The LEAGUE through formal affiliation as the exclusive provider of its philanthropy education curricula in the ten-county Central Texas geographic area.

A Legacy of Giving engages and supports Austin-area teachers in comprehensive training events to enable them to incorporate the more than 1,400 TEKS-coded lessons from the philanthropy curriculum into their social studies lesson plans. In addition to the lessons, the teachers are trained to facilitate student-led philanthropic events that build upon classroom learning and community experiences. A Legacy of Giving impacts students and teachers in grades K-12 on school campuses with populations ranging from financially secure to those that are Title I (low income).

The Drive: In November 2009, Austin area students kicked off “The Drive” as their first philanthropic learning experience. Students from 20 Austin-area Legacy schools from kindergarten to 12th grade learned about poverty, hunger, and homelessness using The LEAGUE's curriculum for The Drive throughout the months of October and November. In November, students began advocating around their schools and neighborhoods on behalf of the hungry and poor in the Austin community. Students collected food for the Capital Area Food Bank of Texas and coats to be given to children in need through a local program, The Junior League of Austin's Coats for Kids. At each of the 20 campuses, the items were accumulated in storage units donated by PODS. All 20 PODS were then delivered to the Capital Area Food Bank for A Legacy of Giving first annual Day of Service.

Day of Service: On November 2009, more than 200 people – students, teachers and parent volunteers - participated in the inaugural Legacy of Giving Day of Service by joining in a community effort to unload all of the canned goods and coats from the storage units. The food was placed in totes to be sorted inside the Capital Area Food Bank, and the coats were put into vans to go to a local cleaner to be laundered before they are distributed to those in need. Cameras from every local media outlet were on hand to capture the event. When a reporter asked a middle school student to define philanthropy, she replied, “It is about sharing your time, talent and treasure.” Nearby, a teacher called out to her students, “Who cares?” The students yelled back, “We care!”

Over 31,000 pounds of food and 2,000 coats were collected and have been distributed to those in need by 4,800 empowered students who now know they can make a difference in their community.